The Intern
'"The Intern" '''is the second episode of ''New Frontier, the fifth season, and the eightieth episode overall. It was told and narrated by Rhys, premiering on July 28, 2014. In the episode, the Archduke of Tomorrowland delivers his response to VMK without the consent of his Viceroys. His aid, Simon, faithfully serves him despite the persuasion of his friends. During a standard mail call, Simon receives a mysterious letter from no one with nothing inside. The Episode "Your Highness." The Archduke opened his eyes. The lights of Tomorrowland glimmered outside his window. It always made him smile. "Message from VMK." "Thank you, Simon." The Archduke took the message and read it over. Before he was halfway down the page, he barked a laugh. "Tell them no. We will not join their pathetic Empire." "Should I call the Viceroys?" Simon asked. The Archduke rolled his eyes. "No. I have already given you my command." Simon sheepishly nodded and shuffled away. The Archduke sent a wry smile after him. That boy had potential. The Archduke grasped the armrests and pulled himself from it with great difficulty. His strength continued to fail. He had to look strong. If he even showed the slightest sign of weakness, the Viceroys, the heads of each subsection of Tomorrowland, would vote to have him removed. That was simply something he would not allow. "Your Highness." It was Simon again, the aid. "Yes?" "The Cases." The Archduke smiled. His favorite part of the day. He took them from Simon, who appeared relieved to have such a weight removed from his hands. "Is there anything else sir?" "No, Simon. I'll let you know when I've finished with these." The Archduke sat at his command desk. To touch the controls...it always elated him. He set his attention to the Cases. He was thrilled to see the quantity. Simon clocked out. The night shift guy, Jeremiah, punched in after him. "How is he today?" "The usual. He rejected VMK again," Simon replied. Jeremiah sighed. "I wonder how long this is gonna drag out." Simon shrugged. "You free tomorrow?" Jeremiah nodded. "Thomas has the whole day tomorrow." "Want to see a movie?" "Which one?" Jeremiah said, intrigued. "Benedict Cumberbatch: The Man Behind the Name?" Jeremiah nodded eagerly. The two set off in opposite directions. Simon got in the Shuttle to go home. "Hey stranger." "Hello," Simon said and kissed his girlfriend, Cherry. "How was work today?" Simon shrugged. "Nothing too special." They got in the Beamer. "What do you think? Monorail or spacewalk?" Simon asked. "Definitely Monorail. I haven't used spacewalk since...well...you know." Simon sighed. Yeah, he knew. "Hey, Simon! Look!" Cherry pointed at the Hub's QuestKiosk. "What?" She lifted an advertisement for a film editor at TML Studios. She eagerly showed it to Simon. "You should apply!" Simon shook his head. Cherry's face fell. "You can't be happy as a servant to the Archduke." "I am, though," Simon said, which was half-true, "I can really go far here." "Why don't you just apply to keep your options open." Simon didn't respond. He was particularly annoyed how much she bothered him about a new job. What was wrong with what he did? It was never too stressful. "Oh, look! Look!" Cherry quickly tacked the ad back up and pulled at her hair. "What?" "A Viceroy!" Barry, the Viceroy of Autopia Mars, came out of the Monorail station. People immediately parted the path for him. Cherry pulled Simon toward him. They lined up with the other citizens and bowed. Barry only slightly acknowledged everyone. He disappeared into the Beamer. Cherry crooned. "Oh the Viceroys are so cool." Simon shrugged. They headed home. They passed a series of transports and the Gateway, which used to lead to Fantasyland but was now blocked due to "mounting tensions with VMK." A man outside the gate was raving about salami and placenta. Simon dropped Cherry off at home, kissed her goodbye, and returned to his own apartment. He checked the movie listings for the Benedict Cumberbatch film and ordered tickets online. An obnoxious siren went off. "Mail call!" a robotic voice shrieked. Simon groaned and dragged himself to the door. The mail materialized on the floor. He sifted through the garbage. He found the only letter he cared about: the usual shopping checklist from the Archduke. He only wanted another fuse. Simon put it on his phone to buy a fuse tomorrow on his day off. He tossed the rest of the letters on his bed and went to make dinner. Simon was in the habit of deleting news alerts. The news these days focused primarily on three things: Viceroys, VMK, and sinking ships. Nothing that particularly concerned Simon. One story that DID interest him was the disappearance of Viceroy Judy of Nautilus almost fifteen years ago. She was on a business trip to Autopia Moon and was never found again. Then, the entire sectorh of Nautilus was closed down and deserted. No one was allowed to access Nautilus and no one knew how to get there either. It used to be located between Autopia Moon and Autopia Earth. It was a mystery, but the Archduke didn't like to talk about it. Simon didn't have the courage to bring it up either. "Mail call!" Simon lowered his eyebrows. Two mail calls? He called Cherry. She worked in electrical. "Two mail calls?" Cherry asked, "When did you hear that?" "Just now..." "I didn't hear anything. Your intercom might be glitched." Simon hung up. Robots didn't glitch. It was unheard of. He went to his bedroom. His mail was still on his bed. What the... In the rare, rare, rare, rare case of a robotic malfunction, Simon was supposed to report it to...his Viceroy? Or his landlord? Simon lived in Space Mountain. The Viceroy of Space Mountain was Viceroy Jess. Did she really care that he received a second call for mail? Simon went to ask his neighbors if they heard it as well. He didn't want to bother Viceroy Jess if it wasn't necessary. But he stopped at his door. Mail had materialized on his welcome mat. The Tomorrowland Post Office, or TomPost, had never missed a letter. Simon picked it up. It was red. But not just red. More red than anything he had ever seen. It had his name on the front in gold embroidering. It was the most beautiful envelope he ever saw. There was no return address. Or stamp. Somehow it passed through TomPost unseen. He flipped it over. There was a circular seal holding the envelope closed. It had four colored sectors surrounding a light purple center: light green, teal, light red, and pink. He couldn't make any sense of it. He broke the seal, opened the letter, and turned it over to dump its contents into his hands. But it was empty. Trivia *This is the first episode to feature Simon, The Archduke, and Cherry *The reference to Benedict Cumberbatch alludes to the mutual enjoyment between the producers and the public of BBC's Sherlock. *TomPost is similar in sound to Compost, a title often given to newspapers, namely the Washington Post. *Salami and placenta is a very subtle reference and foreshadow to Xerxes I of Persia, thus foreshadowing the return of Xerxes. Category:Episodes Category:New Frontier Episodes